Lapdog
by Riley Poole
Summary: There is a wind blowing through Chicago. A kidnapped daughter, A strange man with a wand is wreaking havoc in Harry's jurisdiction and the Denarian's are acting up. Could things get any worse? Never ask that question.  AU version of Changes SPOILERS
1. Chapter 1

A/N: See profile for Disclaimer, no more author notes will be put on this story after this chapter.

I walked into the building. It was soul-less, steel and inorganic; Marcone, a business man at heart, would naturally be completely at home here. I walked past the front desk even as the receptionist blustered and futilely tried to stop me. I jabbed the elevator button and waited, my black leather duster settling comfortably around me under the grey cloak of the Wardens, which fluttered over it and didn't seem to want to fully sit on me. I guess the animosity was mutual. I walked into the elevator, half wishing, half praying that it wouldn't give out at this moment. Elevators and I never seemed to get along, and they can be really scary after you've had a number of ugly monsters from the Nevernever drop on you within their confines.

I looked to my left as Thomas rocked back and forth on his heels with a kind of suave, but contained edginess. I knew that the coffee stop was a bad idea, but I needed the caffeine and the fairies that keep my apartment in order were apparently on board with Molly's dieting idea and had yet to stock any Coke in the fridge. The worst part was that I couldn't ever share the blasphemy with anyone, or the fairies would stop helping me. Stupid fairy laws.

"Don't say it Harry, that waitress was hot and you know it," Thomas said out of the corner of his mouth. I glared at him, he stared back defiantly. He had fed on her, just a little, but I hated watching him do it; always made me feel horribly uncomfortable. He however, insisted that if I needed a pick me up, so did he. I was bewildered by his presence, since I hadn't expected much when I had called him asking for help, but he was here and I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, or anywhere else for that matter.

"We need to be together on this," I growled as Thomas looked away and stared at the mirrored finish of the elevator. I knew he was having an internal struggle of some kind, but I only had suspicions as to what. We straightened up and put on our best poker faces on as the elevator dinged. I tried not to act surprised that we had survived as we stepped onto the top floor of the building. The glass windows gave a spectacular view of Chicago, looking almost like the scaled up version of the Little Chicago I had had in my basement lab not that long ago.

A woman sat behind a beautiful curved mahogany and cherry wood desk. I had a hard time correlating the hard steel and metal with a beautiful organic piece like this. It was so…out of place.

"Can I help you, sir?" asked the woman behind the desk. Her hair was pulled back, exposing her lovely if stressed features. Her hazel eyes were not focused in any direction as was usual for a secretary who took a lot of phone calls. I just pointed at the door and asked, "Is he in there?" with my usual eloquence.

"Yes sir, but he is not open for appointments at the moment," she tried to say as I breezed past her. I gripped the handle and looked over my shoulder at Thomas. He nodded and we strode through the door. I took stock of the situation in a few moments and drew my blasting rod as the two occupants stood. One drew a stick of wood, I raised my blasting rod, being beaten by Thomas only due to his vampire strength; Marcone was last but just as deadly. We all stared around the circle, waiting for the tension to break.

"Who's this?" the teenager asked in a British accent.

Marcone narrowed his eyes and then his lips twitched upwards in a small smile, "Harry, meet Harry."

"What?" we both asked at the same time. The teenager's eyes narrowed at me and his stick of wood started to glow a bright purple. I raised my shield bracelet very slowly. His eyes flicked to my bracelet, then my blasting rod and finally to my face. I tried to look away before it started but I was too late, and he jerked as the Soul Gaze started, or should have. The Soul Gaze is an unstoppable force of nature that all wizards are capable of. It allows the wizard to see into your soul and see you for who you truly are, no tricks, no hiding. However, it goes the other way too, and you see the wizard in the same manner. It is supposed to be unstoppable once started, but I felt a jarring sensation as he snarled and instantly I knew something was wrong.

"You can't go that far before a dinner date, pretty-boy," he said flippantly. His stick of wood switched from purple to a dull forest green COLOR and a curl of smoke was coming off the end. Thomas quietly poked my back, breaking me out of me reverie.

"How the hell did you block a Soul Gaze," I asked incredulously. 'Harry' simply waggled his eyebrows.

"Is that what that was? I thought it was Legilimency," the younger Harry said as he lowered his wand infinitesimally, although the COLOR remained on the tip of his stick. Marcone also lowered his weapon so I figured I could do the courteous thing and lower mine as well, but experience has taught me otherwise. I heard a rustling as Thomas adjusted his position to have a better shot.

We all stood there staring at one another in what could have easily been a Mexican Stand-off. Marcone made the first move. I nearly blasted him into a 30 story drop.

"Since you decided to interrupt my meeting I suppose I will have to rise above and be the gentleman, as per usual. Please gentlemen, lower your weapons, and have a seat. We will conclude whatever business you have first so I may get back to more important matters." Marcone motioned to a chair as he sat behind his desk. It was another construction of organic wood that seemed out of place amidst all the steel and glass.

"You have some answers that I need Marcone," I said without sitting. He cocked an eyebrow and I shifted so the blasting rod was more visible. I realized that there was something seriously up if I had managed to get past Marcone's main lobby without any response from Hendricks.

Marcone merely motioned to the chair; I jerked a little but stopped myself and sat down, Thomas behind me and to my left. I stared down Marcone, unafraid that we would enter a Soul Gaze since he had managed to force me into it some time ago.

"Where's Hendricks?" I asked as casually as possible, trying not to sound worried he might show up at that moment and beat me to a pulp.

"He is out on business," came the curt reply. "What can I do for you Mr. Dresden, since you have the nerve to interrupt my meeting?" I settled on just being outright honest; because, you know, who doesn't like honesty?

"I need you to use your contacts to find out where a child is. She is quite important to me and is in grave danger. Do you think you can find it in your busy schedule to you help me?" I asked, unable to suppress all my sarcastic powers. I hoped it wouldn't come to it, but to save Maggie, I'd have gotten on my knees and begged like most men would have.

"And how is this child important to you Mr. Dresden?" Marcone asked, although I guessed that he had a fair idea exactly whom I was talking about. There was nothing that happened in Chicago that he didn't know about.

"She's mine." I said in as even a voice as I could manage. I didn't need to say more than that though as I saw the tension in Marcone's eyes slip for a moment as the subject of children hit him right where I wanted to, then the tiger's soul was back.

"Ah, so dear Maggie has been placed in danger?" he asked. I stood instantly as he said it, a knee jerk reaction, but the man was a criminal and hearing him talk about my daughter so casually was too much. And I wanted to crush him in general. I couldn't believe that I was still so calm. This feeling had enveloped me since I had first gotten the message, written in blood, saying that my daughter was in danger. I had exhausted every spell I knew, tried everything Bob, my magical lexicon; could think of. My child was being kept in the dark from me and it should have enraged me but it didn't. Calm was enveloping me and it was dangerous, like a wool blanket all warm and fuzzy in the middle of an inferno.

"Who's he?" Thomas suddenly asked, saving me from having to find a way to steer the conversation in his direction. I needed answers about my daughter, I needed help finding her and I really wanted to know what the hell was up with Marcone letting his bodyguard ape disappear, leaving him exposed.

Marcone pointed at the teenager who stood and bowed slightly, then turned and looked down at me for a few minutes. I took a look myself and noticed he was about a head shorter than me. He wore glasses, but they were modern and stylish. He wore his black hair short, almost militaristic, which revealed a prominent scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. He held out his hand and I stared at it for a moment wondering if it was a trick before I realized he had nothing on me, then finally I shook it.

Hell's Bells, the subtle tingle I normally got from fellow practitioner was anything but subtle this time, it damned near electrocuted me. He smiled and stared me down. My eyesight grew fuzzy and a headache grew. I heard Thomas growl and then the fuzz and pain went away.

"What are you doing to him?" Thomas asked angrily.

"Oh, I deeply apologize, Mr. Dresden; that was just a bit of passive Legilimency, I forgot my glasses were channeling it. I'll remove the charm," he said, his accent shining through in spades. Thomas gave him a blank look, which probably mirrored own of my own.

"A spell used to see another's memories," Potter replied to our obvious ignorance.

"That breaks the Laws of Magic," I gasped out. He tilted his head as if searching an array of knowledge before answering.

"Ah, yes, the White Council. I assume you're a part of it, and you are of course referring to the Laws of Magic set down by the original Merlin to the wizards not of the Wand." He nodded to himself and I heard teeth grinding. The source was none other than, whoops, me.

"Well, I just happen to be from what you would call the Wand-world so… Legilimency as it's called is an accepted method of interrogation and intelligence gathering, if you'll excuse the pun (what pun?). Of course, it's not really acceptable to use it on the unsuspecting, but I have more than plenty reason to keep others from lying to me," he said, a small grimace flashed over his face, before the ready smile returned as if nothing was wrong.

I eyed him cautiously; he was different than the last Wand-wizard I had met, who had been timid and almost afraid to use his magic in the presence of a non-practitioner. He had rambled on and on about a Statute of Secrecy or some such idiocy.

"What about your Statute?" I asked warily. He gazed at me for a moment and I had to fight not to meet his gaze. No Soul Gaze for me, not with this guy. He smiled and merely shrugged. I was getting more and more confused. The only real impression I got from this man was dangerous, much like Kincaid was, but in a more mystical and worldly manner than Kincaid's aura. Where Kincaid was Otherworldly, this kid seemed to be born of the Earth's magic

"What the hell did you get yourself into Marcone?" I asked, never taking my eyes off of Potter. Potter turned to Marcone, and looked him in the eye. There was no spark of electricity that I usually felt when a Soul Gaze occurred, maybe that meant that the Wand-wizard was immune to that particular manifestation of magic. Or maybe they had already been there and done that. I shivered, I knew what was in Marcone's soul but I didn't want to know what was in Potter's soul that would allow Marcone to respect him.

"Actually, it wasn't I who arranged this meeting. It was Mr. Potter here who wished to see me. He was just getting to the point when you barged in here. I hope you can forgive me Mr. Potter, but please continue where you left off, it may be that the two problems are intertwined," Marcone said as he motioned to the seat across from him.

Harry sat and he looked at me. Annoyed, I just stared him down, keeping my eyes slightly off his, naturally. Every minute here was a minute wasted in finding my daughter. I would destroy the entire world if it meant I could get that which had been stolen. Plus I was meeting Susan in an hour and this was going too slow.

"Can we hurry it up here? I got a hot date in an hour," I cracked before Potter could open his mouth.

"Harry, be careful," I heard my brother muttered.

"What?" I asked at the same time as the kid. Great, now there was a damn echo in the room.

Ah, shit. This was going to get confusing.

"This town ain't big enough for the two of us," I grunted dramatically, "You are no longer Harry, you are now Harry Two." You should spell out numbers under a 100 normally.

"I am not going to be Harry Two, either you can be Harry Two or you can call me Potter," he said. I liked my idea better, but for the sake of expediency I nodded slightly and gestured at Marcone.

"As I was saying before, I am looking for a silver coin. It is about an inch in width and it has a Roman figure on one side. The other side, has a symbol that looks like this," he pulled out a drawing. "Do you recognize this?"

Marcone stared at it for a second, then a look of recognition. He turned the paper over and showed it to me.

Nicodemus.

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**/Dresden/**

Thomas and I hit Nirvana on the way to my meeting with Susan. As I finished my third cheeseburger and the rest of fries, I pointed to a spot on the side of the road. Thomas pulled over and parked the Hummer. The monstrosity was not very effective at hiding but I'll be damned if it wasn't comfortable.

"So what now Harry," Thomas asked me. I slurped the last of my soda and turned a little in the seat.

"Well, I need Bob, and a couple of potions I have stocked. Then I'm going to grab a few other items of a dubious nature. We'll be hitting Michael's after this. I shouldn't be gone more than fifteen minutes alright. You know what to do if I'm not out in fifteen minutes right," I said.

"I go get help?"

"No, you come in and you get me. I may be stupid sometimes, but I'm not an idiot," I told him. He simple lifted an eyebrow and stared.

"Ok, a lot of the time, but that's beside the point, if I'm not back in fifteen just get me, okay."

I hopped out of the car and walked down the steps into my apartment. I pulled open the solid metal door that I had replaced the flimsy wooden one with. It refused to move at first and then with a groan, opened enough to let me in. I felt the wards slip aside as I entered my home. It wasn't much, but it was mine. Just like my car. My poor dead car that was still in the shop.

My first indication that something was wrong was the fire burning fiercely in the fireplace. The next clue was the woman sitting on my couch. She was ethereal in her beauty and deadly in her ways. I gripped my staff a little tighter, slid the blasting rod into my hand and gathered a little will. The smell of wood smoke curled up and into my nose.

"Hello Godmother."

**/Potter/**

I was wondering around Chicago. I enjoy spending time amongst Muggles. It makes me feel a little more 'normal'. There was a time when I was cooped up and it really, really sucked. I digress, it doesn't affect me anymore. Well, maybe a little, you know as much being driven insane can affect you.

Ah, love was in the air, I can practically smell it. I looked around, a university, oh goody. I looked at all the couples and shivered. The "vibe" they gave off is really, irritating isn't the right word but it's the best I can come up with on short notice.

Oh, it was going to be a wonderful day. I just needed to wait for Marcone to find the artifact, and then I would be able to get the hell out of here and back to home. The United States was nice, but I missed home, tea and biscuits and the like. The fact that we were rare and hidden here was more than a hindrance. I missed my own kind, and even though we didn't always have the best of relationships, being amongst your own was comforting in a way. Although lately it seemed I was less and less alone, I mean take Dumbledore standing right there for instance.

I looked around and noticed I had stopped moving. Weird, I didn't remember this, wandering thoughts were unsafe. Dumbledore probably did that, the elderly pain in the ass.

"Sir, are you ok," a college teen asked me. He was short, but muscular and he wore a leather jacket. He had a girl on his arm, a willowy thing who seemed as perturbed as he was. I simply smiled and moved on.

**/Dresden/**

"Hello darling, it's been a long time since I've seen you," said the figure on my couch.

"It would've been longer but someone doesn't understand laws, like breaking and entering," I snapped back. She smiled and I felt an icy fear grip my heart. I shoved it down and smiled back. I gestured to clue number three and said, "let my friend down, now." She smirked and looked up at the couple that was slowly rotating in the air. It looked like they were covered in either a fine mist or a spider web. Susan looked beautiful even in an enchanted sleep.

"Aren't you pleased with me?" the Leanansidhe said. She gestured with one manicured hand to the couple. "I came upon these two brigands ransacking your little cave and…What is the word?" Her smile widened. "I apprehended them."

She smiled and stood. "Next, I believe there is a trial and then since they will be found guilty, it will be an execution."

"Wow," was all I could manage. Really, this was the crazy bitch who had been ranting and raving when I last saw her?

"I am here to remind you of accounts owed, my dear," she said as she moved to the door. I was wary that she hadn't tried to make a bargain, attack, or trick me into something.

"I've left you a present however, I hope you like it." With that she vanished.

"What? A present?" I shivered and looked around my apartment and tried to find it, the only thing I could see was a mirror on the couch table. Was that it? I picked it up, it was ornate, with a slightly blue tint to the reflection. It was cold to the touch, but I expected nothing less of Winter. There was a pretty red gem in the spot where the mirror me the handle. Did she think I was really that vain?

"Urmmurrgh," a voice sounded from my couch, the two were waking up. I launched myself to their side, the mirror forgotten, and waited as Susan awoke first and jerked awake. I staggered back a bit as she jumped up and looked around. She finally noticed where she was and who I was.

"What happened," was the oh-so genius question.

"You got knocked out by my Godmother," was the oh-so witty reply.

My door slammed open and a pale blur leaped in with a sword charging ahead of it. Thomas had actually come to my rescue, what in the hell was going on today?

"Thomas, no," I cried as he leapt towards Susan. A roaring bark came from my bedroom and Mouse jumped into the fray. He stopped mid-way and looked at Mouse, then at me. I looked at Mouse in surprise, and then shrugged at Thomas. Mouse looked at me and dropped the Foo-dog vibe. "It's ok, I'm fine." Thomas looked around and swept out. I thought I heard him mumbling about idiot brothers but I wasn't sure.

"Mouse, where were you? Hiding in the bedroom," I asked him rhetorically. He just barked and looked at me with those too-wise eyes.

"Susan, Marcone is helping us and we need to get back to him so he can tell us what he's found. We're picking up Michael on the way so I'll explain after we get him, let's get moving." Susan grabbed me and spun me around.

"Harry, I'm sorry," she started, but I waved a hand cutting her off.

"You should have told me Susan. I shouldn't have had to find out from a fucking ransom letter." I growled at her. She narrowed her eyes for a moment and her tattoos flashed slightly. I knew she was battling the vampire urges inside her.

I ignored her and walked around grabbing the bits and pieces I needed and we all marched out the front door. I locked it and set the wards up behind me. Thomas had the car running. Mouse followed obediently, leash in mouth.

"No way Harry, He's not coming in here," Thomas said as Mouse lined himself up for the hop into the tank. I merely glanced at Thomas, "fine, open the trunk." Thomas did so and Mouse looked at me like I was crazy. I rolled my eyes, "humor him please," Mouse chuffed and jumped into the trunk. Everyone piled in and Thomas pulled away.

**/Potter/**

I walked down the alley and turned at the first left. I felt a shimmer go up my spine as I passed a symbol carved into the wall. It was a triangle with a circle that was bisected by a line. I smirked as I fingered my wand in preparation. This had nothing to do with the artifact, this was a loose end I had planned on tying up years ago and I was finally getting around to it. I stalked forward and stopped at the old wood door.

"_Aufsperren"_ I murmured. The door clicked and I slowly turned the knob, trying to be silent. The door didn't budge. I sighed, the hard it was then. Clearly he had been expecting me, not a good sign for someone trying to be discreet.

"_Zunden_" I whipped my wand sharply at the door knob. It exploded in a shower of sparks and I pushed the door open.

"Oh Elijah, it's me Harry. I've come to call finally. I believe I owe you something don't I? I made a promise a while back and I haven't kept it have I? Elijah, I know you're here." I called out as I stepped into the room. I carefully avoided the shattered door knob as I looked around. I held my wand aloft slightly and a muttered _Lumos _lit up the room. It was dank and the only pieces of furniture in there were a table and a chair. There was a pile of parchment on the table and a few ragged quills. The walls were papered in parchment with the symbol from the alleyway.

"It seems you've been busy Elijah, what are you writing," I called out as I stepped over to the table. I picked up a piece and read a bit of the first line; "the Elder Wand is the most powerful wand in the world" I stopped there. I knew where it went from there.

"Elijah; come out, come out wherever you are," I murmured as I looked around.

_ "Deleo,_" a voice shouted to my left. I dived and flung a wandless banisher at the table. It flipped and I rolled behind it, casting a strengthening charm on the wood. It rattled as Elijah cast another destroying curse at me.

"Elijah, you disappoint me. You were so clever the first time. Sneak attacks and seventh year curses. What's gotten into you," I cried over the table. I heard rustling as Elijah shifted his position in the room. I tried to listen as he moved, to pinpoint where he was going. I couldn't.

"Potter, you made a mistake in tracking me down. I was content to write my book and live on my own, but you had to interfere. Brought the Dark Lord down on me and I had to run. I had to uproot and restart my book Potter, do you know what that cost me? _Incendio,_" He shouted the last. I felt heat licking at my back as the table went up. Apparently uprooting wasn't too much hassle if he was willing to burn his book to get me.

"_Avada Kedavra_," I shouted, the curse missed by a centimeter and hit the wall, annihilating the wood and plaster and blasting a hole into the room next to it. I could make out a shower as water began to spurt out.

"Missed me Potter, you must be getting shoddy if you missed me from this close," Elijah cried out in exultation.

"_Neco_," I intoned. The purple black curse flew into his chest and he seemed to gasp in surprise. I grinned as the curse killed every cell in his body in a manner of minutes. He screamed deliciously, I reveled in it. I was master of death and no one could say otherwise, not even Death himself.

I swept my wand over the place and it righted itself, the table ashes disappeared,. I conjured a new table. I fixed the wall, rebuilt the pipes and conjured a new door knob. It wouldn't last forever, but it would stand until after the Magical Sheriff's arrived. I burned the book manuscript and the papers on the wall. Nothing would be left for others to find, no one would know of the Hallows. The knowledge and the power would die with me, whenever that was.

**/Dresden/**

We pulled up at Michael's place and my army hopped out of the tank. We walked up the drive and I knocked on the door. My army met the Carpenter army and an all out war for the door occurred. I laughed a little as my group managed to finally make it inside the house around the children that were 'attacking' them.

"Michael, can we speak in private?" I asked over the din. He nodded and motioned to the back yard, where he kept a private shed. We walked in silence and I waited until he closed the door before I began.

"Michael, I'm going to cut to the chase. You deserve to know just what is happening and even though you said you're out of the game, I brought you your sword. We need your help. He's back, Nicodemus is back." I said. A gasp was heard, but it wasn't Michael.

"Molly, what are you doing in here?" Michael admonished her. I was torn between being proud of her veil and angry that she violated our privacy.

"Dad, you can't go," she said as she shimmered into existence. I sighed, here we go.

"Molly, this isn't for you to worry about, you're only an apprentice," I stated plainly. Her eyes narrowed and she glared hard at me.

"If Nicodemus is back, you'll need every bit of help you can get," she retorted. I looked to Michael who was looking at the sword in my hand. He slowly reached out and gripped the handle. He pulled the sword from the scabbard and stood, without the cane. He seemed to stand a bit straighter and taller.

"If God has a plan for me, that is unfinished then I shall strive to finish what he asks of me," he spoke in his resonant baritone. It fitted his position as a holder of a sword of God, yeah, God as in capital "G" and angels. I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but it works for him. I don't judge.

"Molly, you however are not going," he said as he turned to her.

"Dad, I'm old enough to be an apprentice, I can do the best veil anyone has seen according to Harry and you need me," she said.

"No, and that's final." He said, we walked into the house and she followed behind begging the entire way. We ignored it and Michael walked into the house.

Charity looked at me, then the sword, then Michael, "Please, Michael don't tell me he has asked more of you."

"Nicodemus is back, Charity, I have to help if I can," Michael answered.

A giant shockwave rattled the house. The kids started screaming almost instantly, Charity took charge and gathered them together as Michael and I looked out the front door.

"DRESDEN! Come out now or let this family die!"

It was shaping to be one of those weekends where shit happens and I'm the toilet.


	3. Chapter 3

**/Potter POV/**

There was a vibration in my pocket. I pulled out a pager; it was plain, black and cheap, one of several. I watched as the LED read out a number scrolling across it, followed by a number. I felt elation sweep through me as I recognized the number even if the name was clearly fake. I looked up and headed for the nearest public phone. There's not many of those left in the U.S.

I glanced around and then tapped my wand on the top of the box, it instantly started to give a call tone. I smiled, that charm had taken over seven hours of spell crafting runes and arithmancy to create and all it did was make a public phone work. Ahh, the laziness of wizardry. I dialed the number on the pager and settled against the side of the booth.

It rang only once and then a familiar voice picked up, "this is not a secure line; I have information on what you asked for. Meet at the same time and at the same place as last time." It clicked and the call tone returned. Excitement gripped me as I put the phone back and looked around. No one was paying attention, so I placed a temporary obscuring spell on the booth, no one would see inside for the next five minutes, I only need a second to Apparate.

The tube feeling that accompanies most amateur Apparaters disappears the more you use the magic. I was glad for this because it would have been annoying to have nausea every time I wanted to travel somewhere. Instead I merely appeared in the lobby of Marcone's building, the receptionist jumped but I ignored it to knock on Marcone's door.

"Come in," a voice called from inside the room. I opened the door and stepped inside, feeling the wards part like a curtain as Marcone's invitation neutralized the wards effect on me. The first thing I noticed was the mountain of a man behind Marcone. He looked like Hagrid's cousin, except more muscular and ready for battle where Hagrid was just massive, giant blood perhaps?

"Do you have it?"

"I do not have the item you requested as my people cannot access it. However, I have everything we can gather on the location, the security and the item. It will be up to you to retrieve it. Of course since we did not initiate the retrieval process so we will lower the cost to fit the services rendered. However, we will offer supplies, back up and equipment if you so choose," Marcone spoke at length. I simply waited for the finish.

"So you failed at retrieving it but are willing to sell me the information. Greed really is the basis of all communications to you, isn't it Marcone? How much?"

"Due to inherent risks and the dangers my team was subjected to, I will take no less than 20,000." he replied evenly. I stood, walked around his desk to the musical styling's of knuckle and neck cracks from the giant and gestured at Marcone's computer. He leaned back and I typed in a series of commands. A bank transfer was simple, easy and untraceable in the right conditions. He had his 20,000 in a few seconds.

"Good day Mr. Marcone. If this is as complete and accurate as you claim then I may have use of you in the future," I called as I walked out of the office. I couldn't be sure that the gorilla knew of magic and I didn't want to give up an advantage over Marcone's muscle, you know, just in case.

**/Dresden POV/**

I gripped my staff tightly and strode out to meet whatever it was that was calling my name. At first it was nothing more than a giant blurred beast. As I got closer, small horns defined themselves as did a handle of what was most likely a weapon protruding from behind its shoulder. There was a glowing sigil on its forehead, I mentally groaned.

"Harry, there's a problem." I heard from my right.

"Now's really not the time to be saying that Michael." I asked through clenched teeth

"But Harry, there is a young man staring right at you in the yard over," Came Michael's calming baritone. I looked over, wondering how the hell Michael had even managed to tear his gaze away from the Denarian. I looked over to see a youngish man whose most distinguished feature was a shock of bright red hair. He seemed tall, maybe even a little taller than me, which would put him well over 6 foot 5. I watched as a woman materialized next to him, she had brown hair that was pulled tight and clasped the man's hand as she appeared.

"Did she just fucking teleport?" I sputtered. Michael crossed himself and stepped forward, reminding me there was a damned demon, quite literally, staring at me as well, I forgot about Lanky and Bushy for a moment to focus on the Fallen Angel.

"Begone from here, unless you wish to give up the coin Urumviel." Michael called out, I knew it was a bluff; Michael would never let a coin go free.

"I have come for thine Wizard, O Knight of the thrice accursed Cross," the demon rumbled to Michael. His burning eyes stared at me as he slowly raised his hand to his back. I heard Michael's sword whisper in its sheath and then a full on "Holy Glow" lit up the lawn in front of where he was standing. I was worried for Him though, since he was without his usual get-up.

Urumviel stepped forward and stood at the edge of the lawn, he looked to be straining as if he could go no further. Michael raised his sword into a high guard and prepared to charge.

"Fuego," I snarled as I swung my staff at the Denarian, a lance of fire, about as thick around as my arm, spewed out towards the Fallen Angel. It impacted and I gave a whoop as I watched it splash over the demon. The yell died in my throat as the demon shrugged it off.

"Oh, right, fire and demons go hand in hand don't they?" I practically 'eeped' out.

"Anima Solvo!" I jerked as I heard the Latin phrase spoken in a British accent, it was similar to Harry 2's, I mean Potter's, accent. So there were more of them, I thought as I watched a beam of brilliant white light shot towards the Denarian. I expected it not to faze the giant but it exploded when it touched the man's skin and a bright shimmer left the body. I watched as the white streak returned to the man and he snatched it out of the sky, it turned dull and looked like a rock. I blinked and turned back to the Denarian who seemed to be laughing.

"You foolish wand-waver, all you've done is paved the way for me to take over this body. Your magic will not work on a Fallen Angel," the demon cried at the pair.

His laughter froze as a Holy Sword of the Cross emerged from his neck; it ripped to the left and then the right, effectively severing the head from the body. It screamed, a sound like nails on a blackboard magnified a hundred-fold. Michael hadn't moved, so I looked to the fallen body, there I noticed the bulky silhouette of Sanya, the other Knight of the Cross. He grinned in victory as he leaned down and picked up the silver coin that had fallen out of the now quickly shrinking and decomposing body. He wrapped it in the cloth with crosses embroidered on it that was standard procedure for the Knights.

The pair were slowly walking towards us, their sticks out and pointing ahead of them. I held my staff out warily, but Michael stood at wary ease. He spoke as soon as they were close.

"You had no right to remove that," he said to Red.

"What do you mean I had no right, he was about to fight you and I saved your life." The man retorted. The women brushed his arm and he calmed noticeably.

"Please forgive Ron, he gets easily upset after using the stone, it hurts him." Bushy said by way of greeting. She held out her hand and Sanya promptly took it, bowing to kiss it as if she were a Lady of old.

"Well, you have my thanks for the removal as it made my job a lot easier." He rumbled in his Russian accent, Ron turned red and started glaring bullets.

"Sanya, what the hell just happened?" I blurted out. He cocked an eyebrow.

"This young man removed the only thing keeping me from killing the demon." He replied

"Well, isn't that kind of the opposite of how you work?" I asked, incredibly confused. He just stared for a moment, then his head rolled back and he laughed, asshole. Michael gave Red another short look of sad disapproval and then headed back towards the house. I knew he wasn't done with Red or Bushy, but for now he had a family to look after. I hurried after him.

"Michael, what happened back there?" I whispered. His mouth thinned in disapproval, but he looked at the two newcomers and whispered back.

"He removed the human soul in that creature, once it was gone Sanya saw fit to destroy what was left, as it was only the Fallen who as you saw had no intention of leaving the body." I was stopped dead in my tracks. Red had removed the human soul? He had the freaking power to just rip the one thing that made us, well human, out of our bodies and dispose of it like a piece of garbage.

"Hell's Bells," as I caught up to Michael again, "you mean-," he interrupted me with a slash of his hand. He had never done that before.

"Charity, it's ok to come out now. Open up." He called out, we waited. A few minutes later, the front door unlocked and Charity stared up at us. She immediately wrapped Michael in a hug while simultaneously trying to glare at me. It's always my fault according to her.

I heard footsteps as the others came up behind us. I turned and glared at Red and Bushy with narrowed eyes, hoping to scare them. They fidgeted for a moment under my piercing gaze.

"I think he's forgotten how to blink," I heard Red whisper to Bushy. She looked at me for a second then whispered back, "actually, I think he's trying to intimidate us."

Red waved and I gave up, "what are you doing here?" I asked warily.

"We're looking for our friend, Harry Potter."

When will the twists finally fucking stop.

**/Potter/**

I meandered down the lane, it was quiet and there was a comfortable warmth in the air. I smiled and whistled lightly, it was almost over. I only had two more left and then I could head down south to the beaches and maybe find a girl. However, loose ends and Voldemort came first. That's story of my life really.

I stopped outside the townhouses 22 and 24. 23 Primrose Lane was missing, just like 13 Grimmauld Place. Marcone's agents had picked up on this fact even through the Fidelius Charm and had written it down. It was taking a lot to keep the idea firmly in my head that there was a 23 Primrose Lane on this street.

I raised the wand into the night sky and launched a silvery-white spell into the air. A noise like a thunderclap exploded and the sky ignited. I stared for a moment as blue lightning arced out in random directions. I gestured towards the middle where 22 Primrose and 24 Primrose connected and the lightning began to strike. It left no scorch marks and no one seemed to notice it happening, but I allowed it to continue.

I could feel the spell fighting to be free, but I maintained vicious control over it as it ate at the Fidelius, this would take a while, but once it fell, I would have the Diadem. After that, there was only the Locket and the thing itself left, then I would be free. After seven long years, I would be free.

Freedom to act I chose and do what I see fit, and first things first; I was going to bring the Wizarding World kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. They might not like it, but it was going to happen, with a little help from my friends.

I felt a grin slowly creep onto my face, oh this was going to be so much fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**/Dresden/**

The kids had finally been put to bed, Charity was waiting upstairs, she had no desire to hear anything that was going to be said in this kitchen. Red and Bushy sat across from Michael, Sanya, and me. Thomas had left and Susan and Martin had left as well for a hotel. Mouse sat at my feet and Molly sat on a stool on the end.

We kept glancing around the table; none of us were sure where to start. I almost felt like twiddling my thumbs and whistling but as I moved, Red jerked and his wand appeared out of fucking nowhere. I jumped back and pulled my blasting rod out, Michael stood and stepped between us.

"Why don't you put that away and just calmly tell us what is going on." Michael said in his calming tone. Red slowly lowered his wand and I put my blasting rod away hesitantly.

"We're looking for Harry." Bushy explained. I looked at Michael who was smiling slightly. Sanya on the other hand, out right laughed. I restrained my hand from making its way upside his head.

"Well, you found a Harry, but I'm not sure this is the Harry you're looking for is it?" Sanya said with a grin as he worked to control himself. They looked at me perplexed.

"Harry Dresden, Wizard. It's in the phone book," I said. They looked at me incredulously.

"What do you mean, 'in the phone book'? What about the Statute of Secrecy? What about the Muggles?" Bushy exclaimed.

"What is a Muggle," Sanya asked, just as confused as me.

"You know, non-magical people." Red said this time.

"You mean mundane people?" I asked.

Bushy nodded.

"Well, there's no Statute in the States, and no one ever really believes it since I'm one of maybe four wizards of my level in the Greater Chicago area. The one who do believe are usually the ones with minor talents. Those that employ my services however, usually dismiss all the hocus-pocus I do as random crap and say I'm an excellent investigator, which I am by the way." Michael rolled his eyes while Sanya looked ready to shoot that last bit to pieces.

"Then I'd like to employ your services to find our friend." Bushy said immediately. Red harrumphed and crossed his arms. I was beginning to think he had jealousy issues.

"Ron, he could seriously help us and you know it. Get off your high horse and go with it, please." Bushy said to Ron. I snickered and Michael calmly held out a hand, gesturing for their attention.

"I think we know who you are looking for, the problem is we don't know where he's gone." He started. I jumped in, "However, if one of you has something of particular value to him, I can do a basic tracking spell for you when I get done with my own problems. To be honest you picked a really bad time to show up asking for help."

"Is Harry even here?" Red asked. I waved sarcastically in reply, he just glared.

"Is there anything you can do to help?" Bushy jumped in, she seemed distraught. I contemplated giving them Marcone but I wasn't entirely sure they'd make it through a meeting with him alive. They just seemed so innocent, unlike Potter; it was actually kind of disturbing. Then I had a bright idea. Two plus one makes three and three wizards are better than one by a long shot.

"How about, you guys help me out and I will see what I can do about locating your friend?"

They whispered for a few second to each other, it looked Red was emphatically saying no and Bushy was saying yes. They finally came to an agreement and turned to us again. I resisted the urge to say "ready team, and break."

"We'll help you. So what are you dealing with?"

"Ever heard of a Denarian?" Michael asked. I stood to make coffee; this was going to take a while. 

**/Potter/**

I aimed the wand high above where the house was. The ward eater was starting to take its toll on me. But the piece of Death that was powering the spell continued to follow the commands of the Elder Wand. I grimaced as I watched the area the spell struck start to glow brighter. The time when the spell would fall was coming close. I sense the wards about to fall and looked away; I whipped out my holly wand and threw up a shield as a concussive wave blew over me. I waited a moment than looked as the Fidelius fell, revealing a house that was almost completely destroyed. There were a few cheesy gargoyles lying around, well what was left of them at least. I moved forward to inspect the leftovers.

As I looked over the rubble of the house, a tune came to me. I began to hum as I sifted through the broken plaster and drywall. It seemed like nothing could have survived the destruction but I knew that the person who lived in this house was too resourceful to have died from something like this.

A glint caught my eye as I reached the chorus, I sang aloud as I walked over to investigate, "Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques." I stopped as I approached the object; it looked like the corner of a trapdoor, I smiled.

"Hello in there." I called out cheerfully. It's not every day I get to just destroy a building; that was going to be a highlight for a while. I rapped on the now cleared off door. No one answered.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to open up before I blast the door open." I said as I knocked a bit harder. This time I heard rustling, I smirked; this was confirmation. I heard a creaking, followed by a groan of metal as the door opened towards me.

"Oh good, maybe you'll be a bit better about this than Elijah was." I greeted the portly figure with a genial smile. I moved to shake his hand, but he backed up quickly as I moved closer to him. I shrugged.

"I know why you're here Harry and I promise you I don't have it. I swear on my mother's grave-" I interrupted him with a wave of my wand. His mouth congealed, I hated the bastard's voice.

"I happen to know that you hated your mother and I also happen to know that you are lying, and quite badly at that, now, Slughorn, or should I call you Mortimer? Which would you prefer? I actually kind of like Morty, but that's not the reason I'm here. I know you have the Diadem, I know because you stole it and every piece of treasure you could get from the Room of Requirements almost fifteen years ago. I also happen to know that you suck at gambling and it's all gone. Except the Diadem, now hand it over and I'll be on my way. I might even fix some of your house for you." I said.

Slughorn stared mournfully at me, shivering. I wasn't sure if it was fear or cold and I didn't really care. He made a few jerky motions as if reaching for something but stopped cold every time. I just stepped a little closer, not even bothering to raise my wand and stared at him. I could feel the grin spreading on my face as he finally reached for his pockets and pulled out a crown-like object. I snatched it out of his hands and inspected it to make sure it was exactly what I wanted.

"My house?" he murmured nervously. My gaze snapped up to his face, then the surrounding debris. I thought for a moment, then with a wave of my wand, the front door was standing. I opened it, stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind me. The sound of his piteous sobbing was a music sweeter than the humming from earlier.

**/Dresden/**

Well, the sample you gave me works, I can tell you that, but are you sure it was Harry?" I asked as I watched the piece of crystal jump wildly in several directions, settling every so often. It was like he was moving at the speed of light or something. Hermione nodded and Ron just stared at the crystal.

"How is it able to track Harry and none of our spells worked?" he asked Hermione. She looked contemplative for a moment, or constipated. Hey, I'm not going to judge.

"Well, the magic Mr. Dresden here is using, has similar properties to blood magic, or ritual magic. I thinking that by creating a stronger bond between the object and the lost person, it is working better than any spell we could hope to find." I grunted and shook my head.

"It's just thaumaturgy, simple voodoo to be honest." I said, watching as Hermione blushed and looked like she was about to reply with a rebuttal when Michael walked in, ruining the fun.

"Harry, we have a few leads on the coin, Sanya and I are going to go out and see if we can't find them. I leave these two in your hands. Hold on to faith Harry, your girl is going to be okay." Michael said. I felt a warmth fill the room as he suffused it with his faith and I smiled a bit, even though I didn't believe.

"What child?" I heard Ron ask. The change in subject left me in no mood to talk. I hand the crystal to Hermione, grabbed my staff, rod and duster. I walked out of the kitchen, called for Molly and Mouse and stood waiting.

"Who's child; does it belong to this family?" Hermione pestered me. I could feel my lips thinning.

"We can help, it-" I spun towards her, cutting her off.

"It doesn't concern you at the moment. If I need your help, I will be sure to find you, but as of right now, she is my concern." I nearly yelled. I don't know why it was getting to me so much, but it might have something to do with the icy veins of fear that were filling my body with each mention of my daughter. I steeled myself and gritted my teeth. Molly soon showed with Mouse and I left a speechless couple at the Carpenter's house.

"We're going to find Susan and Martin and then we're going to figure out where the hell my daughter is." I growled.

**/Potter/**

I clutched the Diadem in the pocket of the conjured jacket I was wearing. I was idly following a faint magical signature to its source; hopefully I didn't resemble a curious cat too much. It was fairly warm out for an October but I wasn't too upset by it. The warmth countered the cold I continuously felt from the wand in my pocket. It felt like a chip of ice no matter where it was or what spell I used.

As I walked, the signature grew a stronger, but still not enough to really peak my worry. I kept fingering the Diadem as I walked down the sidewalk. The last rays of the sun were lighting the sky a beautiful hue of fire and ash. I smiled at the fond memories it brought back.

I noticed I had made several turns and I was now standing outside what looked to be a hole in the wall bar. Well, more accurately it was a hole in the ground if the sunken door was anything to read by. I walked down the steps and looked in. There was very little magical energy in the room, it seemed to be broken up by an odd ward off some kind. From what I could see and my own basic understanding, the thirteen pillars and the thirteen tables and thirteen fans had something to do with it. I could feel some of my latent energy bleeding off into it. I looked around before noticing a bar. I love bars, or pubs as they're called back home.

"Alright barkeep, give me a bottle of your finest. What do you recommend to eat?" I asked as I sat down. The bald man looked at me as if I was the most inconvenient thing to ever cross his path. He set down the mug he was cleaning and pulled a dark brown bottle out from under the counter. I took a sip and stopped, it felt like heaven had descended on me and I took a deeper pull. I was in love.

"Here," Cueball muttered as he pushed a steak sandwich towards me. I grabbed the plate greedily, if it was as close to nirvana as the ale I think I might have found my new favorite place. It was, I practically inhaled the sandwich.

"Oi," I heard from behind me. I stopped mid-bite, this was going to be a pain in the ass. I turned to face the caller. He was tall, broad, and stank like a fucking trash heap. If he was here before I came in I definitely missed it that's for sure. His eyes were beady and looked fairly dumb, but looks are always deceiving.

"Are you Potter?" the, I guess it was a thing really since it was obvious it wasn't human, asked me. I nodded, swallowing the little bit of steak I had left in my mouth. He reached forward and handed me a piece of paper.

It was a request for someone called the Winter Queen Maeve to meet me. I read through it twice and looked at the big thing. It looked like it was expecting me to come with it. I shook my head and turned back to what I was calling Shangri La. The big thing tapped me on the shoulder.

"What about me turning my back signaled that there was further need for conversation?" I asked, I was starting to get irritated with this brute. He tapped me again and I turned around with the Elder Wand drawn.

"No." I heard from behind me. My gaze whipped to the bar keeper, he shook his head as his eyes rested on the wand. I was puzzled. "Neutral Gounds," he grunted, "Accords."

"I don't know what the hell Accords are, but if this guy touches me one more time, this isn't going to be neutral grounds much longer." I growled. The thing actually was stupid enough to poke me in the chest. I looked down, oh man; this was going to be fun.

I whipped my wand and with a cry of, "Vysylat" the thing was thrown out of the bar and his disguise to boot. Who knew Russian war magic was so powerful. I got up and followed him, the bar was deathly silent, one man even quivered. I had no idea what he was so afraid of, it's not like I was after him.

As I got outside, I noticed that Friendly had gained a few pals. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. This was going to be a really long night.


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N: I know the chapters are short, and a few have addressed the OoC Dresden. To be clear, my original intent with this story is to modify and sharpen my abilities to write Dresden's character, any comments you give will be taken and added to the profile I have now. Thanks to all those who have added my story on alert/favorites and thanks to the few who have reviewed. Enjoy Chapter 5)

**/Potter/**

I raised my wand as the fallen thing got up. His disguise sloughed off like so much dead skin and I finally recognized the smell. He was a bloody cave troll, great. Why couldn't he be a jungle troll or something smaller and easier to kill? A bleeding cave troll was the last thing I needed; four of them just made it that much worse.

"He has broken the Accords," the biggest one rumbled. A slightly smaller one nodded and then I saw the ugliest thing in the world. The trolls all grinned, this did not bode well for me.

"The Accords of neutrality have been broken, the shackles removed, now my brothers, let us take the measure of this puny thing here." The biggest one spoke to his brothers. I sighed and slipped the Diadem into a more secure place and threw of the jacket, it disappeared into air as soon as it left my shoulders.

"I will not be an easy match, that I can assure you," I called out, starting the traditional fighting banter. Did I want to sound like the good guy though? Their eyes narrowed as one and they charged, I guess they weren't in the mood to talk.

"Sokrytie Plameni!" I cried as I snapped the wand in a tight circular motion, blue hued flame sprang up in a wide circle around us, obscuring everything from the outside world and vice-versa. That would take care of any unwanted observers, allowing me to focus on the trolls who were quickly getting closer.

"Depello," I cried out again, knocking the two largest trolls back, allowing me room to maneuver a little bit. I slashed my wand in a diagonal at the nearest and smallest troll, mocking his snarl back at him. Jets of fire flew out the end in torrents. It barely scratched his skin, but he howled all the same in pain. I twisted out of a clumsy lunge made by the other troll in a pirouette worthy of ballet, maybe I should take it up at a later date.

"GET HIM!" the largest cried, signaling his re-entrance to the fight. I giggled, more Russian on my tongue, "Unichtozhit," I screamed as I leveled my wand at the smallest troll, hoping to literally destroy him. The bright yellow spell impacted, at the neck, a little higher than I wanted, but the bloody stump of a neck and the rolling head made me feel a little better.

"He's killed littlest brother." The now smallest one said, I couldn't tell if he was awestruck or horror struck, but I used the time to attack.

"Reißen" I cried out, letting my delight in the battle power the dark German spell. It hit the dumbstruck troll and did nothing. I was sorely confused now. I tapped my wand against my palm to check it was working properly, it shot a few sparks, I shrugged and looked up just in time to see the largest troll approaching rapidly. I turned on the spot and Apparated behind him. He spun with a speed I didn't expect from such a large being. I leapt back and swung my wand up in a vertical slicing motion; purple flames shot out and splashed onto the troll. It only infuriated him and he charged at me. I leapt to the side only to run into the now middle brother. He attempted to seize me but I managed to change it to a roll at the last second.

"Avada Kedavra," I sang out, I decided I should look into joining a choir of some kind. It hit the middle troll and with the delicious sound of rushing wings he fell. I smiled, two down, two to go, oh what fun I was having. I rounded on the biggest troll only to hear the now smallest one grunt. Both Biggun and I turned to him to see a finger missing and his club flying out of the circle. It caught me by surprise, I hadn't done anything and he somehow had been neatly de-fingered and disarmed. I quickly shot off another Russian exploding spell and severed his head from his shoulders. Biggun turned to me and howled in absolute fury. I turned on the spot again and Apparated behind Biggun again. As I did so, I heard a low "phut" kind of sound and Biggun's hand exploded. What the fuck was going on? I quickly spun again, Apparating out of harm's way and sent one last Russian slicing curse at the Troll, it cut his head off just like the rest. I sighed and stopped moving, feeling the drain on me.

I swiped my wand, putting out the Obscuring Flames and saw a man with an entirely too large gun standing right outside it. The gun was aimed at me, oh joy.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing?" he asked in a calm voice. I smiled and held out a hand.

"Name's Harry, might I ask who my charming Knight in shining, uh, leather coat, might be?" I asked. He didn't lower the gun, but shook my hand in a quick kind of jerking motion.

"Name's Kincaid, bodyguard to the Archive, who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing battling Winter's trolls in downtown Chicago where anyone can see you?" he asked again in that calm voice.

"They ganged up on me, and I'm not into threeways or fourways or anything like that so I politely said no. We had a disagreement on what 'no' means and I got into a bit of a scuffle. How did you know I was here?" I shot back, quid pro quo and all that right?

"Archive said to be here and I was," he responded, finally lowering the gun.

"No, I mean how did you see through the flames? The whole point of the spell is to obscure the outside to the inside and the other way around. If you were here, how did you see the troll's hands in order to shoot them?" I asked, clarifying.

"I didn't."

"Oh." I turned and stared at the dead trolls, then back at him. He shrugged and handed me a piece of paper. I looked up at him and he smiled in a predatory fashion, pointed at the paper and swept away. I high-tailed it out of the area before the "Bobbies" showed up.

**/Dresden/**

We were careening wildly down the freeway and Thomas didn't seem to care how close he was getting to others. I decided the best course of action was to clutch the door, brace myself and scream in a very manly way every time we got close to another traveler.

"Oh, shut up Harry, we'll be fine." Thomas assured me. I just stared at him like he was crazy and continued my actions. He swerved and dodged traffic, I turned green, it seemed like we were getting back into our normal routine. I did however; still want to talk to him in depth about what was happening with him.

My blasting rod was hanging from its tie on the inside of my coat. The ridges of the runes and sigils carved into it felt comfortably familiar under the fingers of my right hand as I drew it out.

Susan, Martin and I were hiding behind a car while Thomas sitting further down the street in the tank, I mean Hummer. He was playing get-away driver. I think he was happier away from the danger to be honest. Or he might have just been trying to protect his damn car, I'm not sure.

"They've already managed to get inside already. We don't know where their information is coming from, but we need to get to the computers in there. Stay here, be on the lookout for anything, ok Harry?" Susan practically commanded me. I half-heartedly protested, but I wasn't planning on listening anyway so it was a matter of getting them on their way so I could follow them without their knowledge.

There were buildings on fire. More and more sirens were on the way. The spot in the skyline where my office building usually sat from this angle was empty excep for a spreading cloud of dust. Fires and emergency lights painted the dust orange and red and blue.

My files. My old coffee machine, My spare revolver. My favorite mug. My ratty, comfortable old desk and chair. My frosted-glass window with its painted lettering reading, HARRY DRESDEN, WIZARD.

They were all gone.

"Dammit," I mumbled.

Susan looked up at me. "What was that?"

I answered in a weary mumble. "I mailed in the rent on my office this morning."

"WIZARD DRESDEN," a voice shouted behind me.

"Oh now what," I cried, spinning around to see seven figures in purple stoles and wizards robes. They stood arrayed in a semi-circle around me and an eighth figure in grey Warden's robe stood with a gleaming sword drawn. His hood was down and his steel colored hair was kept in a pony tail.

"Oh fuck, Susan, run. RUN NOW," I cried as Morgan strode forward.

"Wizard Dresden, you stand accused of breaking two of the Seven Laws. You have murdered with the use of magic, and you have summoned beings from the Outside. By the power of my sword and the word of the Council, you are sentenced to death." Morgan cried out in what he probably thought was righteous fury. It sounded more like childish arrogance if you asked me.

Susan looked at me and then grabbed Martin and ran. Now all I had to do was defeat Morgan, and the Council and then save my daughter. Oh yeah, this was going to be easy.

Morgan raised his sword and the world went white. I felt my cheek touch pavement for the second time that night and then a pair of hands was grabbing me and hoisting me onto a shoulder. I was quite stunned that someone had managed to pick me up, let alone carry me.

"Hang in there big boy, you still owe me a date," I heard through a hazy fog. I grunted, but I couldn't pull in enough breath for my usual witty response. Some things are just too much to attempt.

I felt some jostling and then, the world left me behind and I blacked out again. I woke up and saw the ground, it looked like it was a mile below us. I did what any self-respecting man, I screamed.

"Oy, shut up." I heard. I realized I was in a harness of some kind and I was moving forward at an incredibly uncomfortable pace. I looked up and saw Potter. He was sitting on, well fuck me, it looked like a broom.

"Yes, I'm flying on a broom, make all the jokes you want, but right now I'm getting you to safety so shut up and let me fly," Potter cried over the wind. I tried to say something but, when I opened my mouth, all that came was another scream, albeit manly and powerful, not at all girly. I swear he smirked at that.

We flew for what felt like maybe 20 minutes, but I was passed out for part of the ride so it could have been longer but I wasn't sure. We flew down towards the Earth and Potter slowly drifted down so I could land on my feet and unhook myself. As soon as I was done he set down and hopped off the broom.

"That'll be 26.50," he said in an Indian accent, holding out his hand. I stared at him in confusion. He just sighed and dropped the act.

"So, who the hell were those old geezers in the robes?" He asked. I debated on whether it would be okay to tell him about the White Council and he just narrowed his eyes. Oh shit, I forgot about his legimancy or whatever it was called. I blew out a breath and looked around. We were outside a pub of some kind.

"Is there somewhere we can talk where we won't be interrupted? I don't have much time." He gestured into the pub and then walked in before me mumbling something about beauty before ugly; I was too tired to snap anything back.

"Welcome to the Holey Pot, not the most creative name I admit, but a Leaky Cauldron isn't really found in America I've found out." Potter spoke as he gestured me into a grubby pub. It was nothing like Mac's, I tried not to look like a petulant child, but from the few patrons in the pub, I was failing. Fuck them.

"Let me get a room and then, we'll talk." I nodded and looked around.

I heard a familiar voice, "hey Hoss, I got a room for the two of you, hurry up and get up here." I spun in surprise, my blasting rod came whipping up to aim at the old man. Potter's wand also was out and pointed at him as he motioned for us to come up the stairs.

"Oh come on Dresden, just get your ass up here." He growled and I slowly moved forward, keeping the rod up.

"This is one of the guys who tried to kill you Dresden," Potter warned. I just narrowed my eyes at him.

"How do I know you're not going to kill me as soon as I come up there?"

"Because, Hoss. I'm here to help you. You and both know that I wouldn't have even let you know I was here if I were going to kill you." He replied, I felt stupid and lowered my rod. Potter's wand didn't budge an inch.

"How do I know you're not going to kill me?" He asked.

"He's not going to kill you because we're with him." A woman called from behind McCoy. Hermione stepped out from behind him and waved at Harry who smiled brightly and waved back.

"Come on up and let's talk," she called down. We looked at each other and shrugged and started up the stairs.

"Does this mean we're going to be Obliviating them?" Harry asked as he hit the landing, Hermione merely glared at him.

"What's Obiliviating mean?" McCoy asked me.

"I have no idea, sir."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, just had a hard time finding the time and desire to write this on top of all the crap I've been doing. University's out and I'm home for the summer so hopefully it should speed up. We'll see. As always, please let me know what you think of Dresden, (am I any closer to a good Dresden?) Also, my chapters are usually unbeta-ed so if someone wants to help out, please send a message.

**/Potter/**

We were all standing around the room, staring at each other. The two wizards from America were squirming under my gaze, and it was delightful. I must have looked pretty intimidating which is what I was going for at the moment. I was going for "fucking scary as hell" but Hermione kept glaring at me every time I looked at her. Finally the old geezer began to talk; I thought the Apocalypse would come first.

"Boy, I thought I taught you better than that?" he rumbled. Dresden glared at the old man before looking at Hermione, Ron and I. The old man seemed to get the point and stopped his tirade.

"Dear," he said to Hermione, Ron got all flustered, but she simply shot him a silencing glance, I wish I could do that without a spell; maybe it has something to do with boobs. I wonder what size would be sufficient.

"Could you possibly give me and the kid a few minutes alone to discuss something?" He asked, Hermione, the gullible gal she is, nodded and practically dragged Ron from the room. I just stayed leaning against the wardrobe. The old geezer eyed me and looked at the door.

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm too comfortable to move, don't let my presence stop you. I can put my fingers in my ears if you like." I promptly did it, and the world's sound went away. He glared suspiciously at me and then turned to Dresden. I whispered a word and sound flooded back in from the world and I began to pick up on vibrations in places in my head other than my ear drums.

"Hoss, you've really stepped in it this time. The council is furious with you for the destruction you've caused in Chicago. Hell, they know of the broken Accords," the old man said with a grimace.

"What?" Dresden shouted. There were those accords again, what the hell were these accords?

"Someone broke the Accords in Mac's? Who would be stupid enough to do that?" He said, still a decibel higher than necessary.

"You mean it wasn't you," the old man asked. Dresden stared at him incredulously.

"Do they really think I'm that stupid," he asked. The old man stared hard at Dresden who stared right back. There's a story here, I know it.

"Alright boy, I'll cover for you this time but I swear, more shit happens around you then any other man I've ever met.

"You obviously haven't met me then geezer," I said. They jumped, as if they had both forgotten I was here. I'm insulted. Dresden looked like he was torn between embarrassment and anger, the old man just tried to glare at me.

"If you keep making that face, it's going to get stuck," I replied. He seemed disgruntled, I laughed.

"We'll be talking later about you cooperation with the Wand Wizards boy," the geezer said as he stood up. He yanked open the door and I saw Hermione and Ron hurriedly wrapping up a piece of flesh colored string. I smirked at them as Hermione blushed; Dresden merely snorted and waved them in.

Once they were all in, Dresden started talking. I tried to pay attention but I kept hearing wind in my ears, like they were purposely excluding me from the conversation. Hermione turned to me and asked me a question. I ignored her and started to get into the sound, it made me feel like I was on a broom. Dresden stared at me and then jumped into action, I had just started walking to the window intent on climbing out and hopping on my broom.

I was tackled and then blackness took me.

**/Dresden/**

I grunted from the impact of my shoulder in his spine. I heard a thud and then I realized what I had done. Potter lay underneath me and was practically writhing trying to get out from under me. Then, the screams started. He thrashed and twisted, but never trying to escape, just screaming in horrific pain. Hermione and Ron rushed to his side.

"What in the nine levels of hell is happening?" I grunted out.

"His scar is flaring up." Hermione replied while trying to cradle Harry's head. Ron was holding Harry's legs, keeping them from kicking out. It was like trying to hold down a seizure patient.

"This happens to him every so often. After we killed Voldemort the first time, we found out why." Hermione practically screamed over Harry.

"Who," was my witty rejoinder.

"Voldemort, evilest Dark Lord in the last century. Harry's killed him twice now." Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"This man has done a Jesus Christ twice?" I asked, wincing at my sad attempt at humor.

"No, he's lasted longer than three days."

I blinked. Someone who understood my humor? There was only one person who could possibly have understood the reference, but when had she gone to England?

"Hey Molly," I replied.

"Who is Molly?" Hermione asked. I looked around the room and finally spotted the telltale glimmer of a veil. At this point Potter decided to get an uppercut in on me.

"Fuck that hurt," I could taste blood on my tongue. I grappled with Potter for a few minutes, Ron mumbled some Latin that sounded suspicious. Potter went limp.

Well, hell, why didn't you do that in the first place?" I asked him, glaring. He shrugged and grinned.

"It was kind of funny watching you get beat up by an unconscious person," he retorted. I glared some more, hoping this time he would die.

"Well, now that that's taken care of. When the hell did you go to England Molly?" I turned to the veiled figure.

"I didn't, but a cousin of mine did and she's been going to a boarding school there. She kept calling me a muggle though so I kept asking what she meant. She finally gave me a book all about this stuff and I found his name in it. Harry Potter. I also told her that I wasn't a muggle but she kept saying that I was, so I kind of might have showed her the lab." She rambled.

"Did she touch anything?" I grunted in reply. She shook her head so hard I thought it was going to spin off, but it stayed attached, much to my displeasure.

"And what made you think you could just take any random stranger down to my lab?" I growled out, she seemed frozen in fear. I didn't have time to waste on this crap, my daughter was missing and I needed to get back to Susan and Martin who would hopefully have information for me to look over.

"Fine, forget I asked for now, but I will be having a talk with you later. Right now, we need to figure out what to do with Potter and then get to the meeting point." Hermione and Ron grabbed Potter and I nabbed Molly's arm and we walked out of the Holey Pot.

I looked around a moment, trying to figure out where we were. It seemed awfully familiar. I looked around for a few minutes and then turned to Molly to ask here where we were. That was when the door caught my eye. Instead of ascending a few steps to the Holey Pot it had changed.

"What the hell? This is the door to Mac's," I cried out as I glanced at the now descending steps.

"Of course it is, where do you think you were?" I heard behind me. I knew that voice. It belonged to the five foot terror of the wicked. I called her Murphy most of the time though. I turned to see her as short and proud as ever. Her hair was cut a bit shorter than last time I had seen her, and she was in plainclothes, no badge or gun, that was visible at least, not that she needed it of course. There were many trophies in her house to attest to that.

"Murph, I'm glad you got my call." I said weakly as she glared at the man on my arms.

"I hope to God that you are not participating in a kidnapping Harry," she said, I could hear quiet steel in her words. I frantically shook my head.

"Good, then let's go in and have a drink." She said with a smirk. I nodded and we turned and walked down into the pub. I had to duck to enter and watched the fans warily to make sure I didn't hit them. The thirteen fans and columns diffused any nervous energy that might have been building. Ron and Hermione were right behind me. Mac looked up and nodded at me. Then he glared at my shoulder. I was confused. A few patrons started to get up and disperse, I'd never seen that happen.

"Not allowed." I heard. I looked at Mac. He pointed at my shoulder and then grunted 'no' again. I set Potter down in a booth and walked over to Mac.

"What do you mean he's not allowed?"

"Broken Accords. His fault." Mac said. I could feel the disbelief written on my face.

"He broke the Accords? Does that mean this is no longer neutral grounds?" I was worried.

"No, still safe," was all I got.

"So can I keep him here please? I have to talk to Murph about something." HE glowered at me.

"It's my daughter Mac." I could see his eyes soften. Then he turned and said to the people who were left, "Closed."

The patrons grumbled but slowly got up and left. Mac really seemed to be on my side, which I was grateful for. I would have to leave him a really nice tip next time I was here.

"Alright Harry, quit stalling, what's going on." I heard Murphy call from a booth. As I walked back to them I tried to figure out what to say to her. I sat down and sighed hard, this was going to be tough.

"Murph, I need your help. My daughter has been kidnapped by some Reds and I think they're going to kill her to get back at me," I said, laying my cards all on the table. Her face of shock would have been priceless if the situation wasn't so serious.

"You have a daughter?"

"Yeah, it was news to me too."

"YOU have a daughter," she repeated.

"Yeah, why are you acting like this."

"I'm just surprised that you of all people managed to procreate." She said, I glared at her, but finally cracked the smile that was threatening. It was nice to have someone else be the comic relief for a bit.

"Yes, Murph I, the great Harry Dresden managed to have sex with a very sexy woman." I said with as much pompousness as I could.

"And just how sexy is this woman?" I heard from the door. I gulped.

"Oh, you know, I'd rate her at about a 10 on a scale of one to ten." I managed to say without choking as Susan came up to me. Martin was in tow and looking mildly upset that he was associating with me at all. They crammed into the booth until there were six of us squeezed in there.

"Well Susan, what did you find?" I asked eager to find my daughter.

"Most of it was just illegible data but we managed to get a few photos off of it." Susan splayed out the few photos she had. I looked over them. There were a few instruments that looked like basic ritual stuff, a cup with animal engravings, a fancy knife, and some tablets. However, what caught my eye was the costume; it was a feathery thing, with all the colors of the rainbow, attached to a furred hood of a jaguar. It looked really South American. However I couldn't figure out what the ritual would be from the pictures. I would have to talk to Bob. I pulled him out of the sack that Susan had brought with her.

"Bob, wake up, I've got some questions for you." The skull shook and orange points of flame slowly grew into the eyes.

"What's shaking Harry? Oooooh, who' the pretty brunette, and why's she next to a vampire?" He asked. I pinched the bridge of my nose as Hermione blushed and Ron looked apoplectic.

"Their a couple Bob, and he's not a vampire, red heads are naturally that skin color."  
"Aww, no opportunities here huh," Bob sighed as I pointed to the photos. He looked them over, humming and hawing as he pondered.

"Well, you've got the instruments for a big ritual here Harry," he said as he looked particularly close at the photo of the costume.

"Definitely big, but I can't seem to make out exactly which ritual I'm seeing here. Harry, this is bigger than normal though. This is big enough to affect more than just you." Bob said. I grimaced.

"Bob-" I was cut off by the power going out.

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. Where's Mac?" I asked.

"Here," was the grunt.

"Is everyone here," I asked. I got affirmatives from everyone. Then the lights came on.

"Where's Harry," Hermione asked.

"I'm right here," I said.

"No, I mean our Harry." I glanced at his seat. He was gone.

"Shit, where'd he go," Ron cried out.

"The skull is gone too Harry," Murph said.

Uh-oh.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Sorry about the late update, I moved into University again and it's been hectic. That combined with lack of writing inspiration lately and that's my excuse, shitty as it is. Therefore, I am uploading this without beta, in the middle of my CRJ class since I felt so bad for my readers. I hope you enjoy it, I have the desire to write this to completion but the desire to actually write is whimsical and comes and goes. I promise I will finish this story though, so don't give up on me. As always, reviews are helpful, especially in defining my Dresden character further.

Also, real quick note, I have had the first six chapters beta'ed therefore I will hopefully be going through them and uploading them as I get done, nothing's changed plot-wise, just a few fixes and what not.

Now then, enjoy the seventh Chapter of Lapdog.

**/Unknown/**

A mist had rolled in; my emotions and sense of touch wrapped tighter to me. The moon hung full over my head. I could hear a howl in the distance. It did not frighten me, there are none left who can. I am not invincible, nor am I immortal, but few would know the magic required to destroy the vessel I currently resided in.

"Tonight was a terrible choice to come out milady," the oily voice of a politician murmured from my right. I resisted the urge to kill the man. I needed him alive to finish the ritual circle.

"Go fetch the others; it's almost time for him to appear." I hissed. The fool rushed off to do what he had been told about ahead of time. I could feel my lips stretch in an unfamiliar movement. I hadn't smiled in ages it seemed, things must have been looking up.

I stepped into the moonlight and felt it bathe my skin. My skin was pale enough to pass for one of the Courts' members and the eyes were mesmerizing I am told. I ran my hands through my hair. It felt like silk, as it should from the brushing I put it through, I am vain, and I am brave enough to admit it. It is a curse of my kind.

"Lady, it is ready." I turned to the circle inscribed in the ground. It was a work of beauty, gold inside of silver inside of marble and runes were carved in at regular intervals. I stepped up to the edge and placed my finger on the outermost circle, with a whisper of energy I enclosed the circle.

"Now, run child. Run far away, I will find you and I will capture you," I whispered. With a blinding flash, a figure appeared before me. I smiled in triumph. The child stood and rubbed at his eyes.

"Where am I? What happened," the cries were pitiful, I would harden it. The stature was pathetic, I would strengthen it, and the mind was weak, I would help it grow. This child was the perfect weapon to bring him back to me. I would have him back in my grasp, as he should rightfully be.

"You are here to help your Grandmother retrieve something dear to her heart." I said as I opened the circle and picked up the young child. He shivered and I wrapped a thick cloak around him.

"Fear not child, it is much warmer where we are going, and I promise you will be ok. You can see your mother and father again when you're done helping me." He snuggled into me and I held back my grimace. I slashed the air and stepped into the heat of Summer. So it begins

**/Potter/**

Ice in my pocket was the first thing to register, it always was. The Wand was still on my person. Pain came next, the crushing feeling of Apparition multiplied a thousand-fold and covered in thin, short spikes. It felt almost as in I was traveling through a carpet of thistles that were being pressed upon me with thousands of pounds of pressure. I gritted my teeth and clenched the only thing I had with me, the talking skull the Other Harry had brought with him

The feeling of pain receded and I saw spots in my vision as I reappeared. It was dark in the immediate area and I had a feeling it was dark wherever I was. The skull in my hand rattled as I looked around, trying to see what was around me. Nothing stirred in the darkness so I lifted the skull up to my eye level. I shook it hard.

"Hey, I know you're in there. Come out with your hands up and weapons on the ground." I said. I watched as the skull again rattled and the teeth ground together, then twin points of orange fire grew in size as the skull woke up.

"What happened," it slurred. I was confused.

"Aren't you a spirit? How the hell are you drunk?"

"Not drunk, whatever brought us here put some sort of psychic whammy on me, I haven't felt pain in years I'll have you know. Then ten minutes with you and I've been kidnapped, whammied and from the looks of it, we're about to die.

"What are you talking about, we're not about to die."

"Don't you watch television," I shook my head no, "do you read," again a no.

"Youth today, no sense of entertainment. Alright here's the usual plot for kidnappings, 'person get kidnapped, wakes up in a dark excluded place, evil guy appears, and everyone dies." The skull said, he actually sounded somewhat worried.

"You're missing one thing here Skull," I whispered as the cloaked men appeared out of the dark.

"What's that?"

"They're not the bad guys," I said as I drew the Deathstick.

"Fuck me."

I put the skull into a pocket and drew myself up to my full stature. I whipped my wand up, and twirled it a little, a cloak of blue and a mask settled itself on me. I don't really like blood getting on me. The figures in the dark gasped. I smirked behind the layer of porcelain.

"Come," I whispered. They moved almost simultaneously.

I twisted around and whipped m wand towards one that was directly behind me, his ankles were torn from the ground as I then twitched the end of my wand towards the figure who was now behind me. The body went flying so fast I could hear the neck snap as whiplash claimed the person's life.

The body flew into the figure and the two went down in a tangle of dead and living limbs, muffled cursing could be heard. There were three more left, compared to the trolls this would be a cakewalk. I fired an _Avada Kedavra_ point blank at the next person to come close, it slammed into the person's mask, shattering it and cutting up the person's face and likely shoving two huge chunks of whatever they were made of into their brain. The gore spattered my mask but the charms I had placed on it kept the mask from being obscured, the body fell with a solid thud, the two standing figure looked at each other.

"Get the Wand, claim it and we can get the hell out of here," the figure said from the ground. The voice sounded male and deep, indicating big, which usually meant higher level threat.

I stabbed my wand at the one on my right, a bright red spell that was pencil thin leapt forward and speared the figure through the forehead. Blood spurted forward, hitting my robes and sliding off. The last two looked at me fearfully. I was disgusted to smell piss from one of them, probably the smaller one. I slashed my wand before the figure could even defend themselves and the sound of rushing wind accompanied another casualty to the dreaded Killing Curse.

"I'm leaving you alive, so that you may know what has happened here. I will let you live, but you will bear the mark of remembrance for the rest of your days," I snarled. I twisted my wand in a corkscrew manner, petrifying the man. I snapped my finger over the tip of the wand and it began to glow, first bright orange before moving through the spectrum to a bright white. He screamed, and I celebrated in my victory.

"Uh, guy? What was that?" Everything suddenly went foggy, I could feel my arm was numb, close to hypothermic destruction and I could feel a sliver of ice in my chest. It slowly receded as the blood lust withdrew. I stared at the wand, then turned to the skull.

"Nothing Skull, just something I have to take care of on my own," I muttered, the skull shook when I pulled it out. He seemed, scared almost. I sighed and turned on the spot, Apparition kicking in and I wound up outside of a wooden door. This was the closest I could get to Ron and Hermione's magical signature, something blocked me getting any closer.

"Why can't I Apparate inside?" I wondered aloud. I felt the skull vibrate

"Mac's set up his bar to disperse magical energies and such. It's actually rather masterful considering there's no ward on the place," he said with an air of amusement. I shrugged and opened the door. Madness met my eyes, but it wasn't beautiful, it was ugly and dumb.

**/Dresden/**

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," I heard myself mutter over and over. Bob was gone. My skull, my library of knowledge, my friend was gone, taken from under my nose. How the hell had he disappeared? Oh, yeah, Potter was gone too but still, how did Bob just disappear?

"Where's Harry?"

"I'm right here."

"No, I mean our Harry," Hermione screeched out. Ron was trying to calm her to no avail. I looked both up and down immediately as my training kicked in. Nothing came up, I sighed. I could use the Sight but I was worried about what might happen, what I might see. The Sight is a literal Third Eye that allows wizards to see the truth of everything, unvarnished and completely bare. The worry came from the fact that what was seen with the Sight never left your memories, it was always there, fresh as if you'd just seen it. I pulsed a little of my power to my forehead and slowly opened my eyes.

Everything was slightly hazy as I glanced around as quickly as I could. There were birds sitting in front of me, fire danced on them as a stream of dark matter flowed into them, specifically into their pockets where I knew their wands were. Next to me, a hulking Fu Dog profile lay calmly on the floor. Finally behind the bar was nothing but a bar of pure white light that seemed to glow brighter and brighter the longer I gazed at it, I quickly shut my eyes and closed the Sight.

"What the hell was that?" I muttered. Hermione and Ron were still going crazy, so I looked at Mouse. He stood and woofed loudly, the others calming almost immediately.

"Good boy," I whispered, petting him.

"Now that we're all calmed down a bit, can anyone tell me WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS!" I shouted the last part, my hysteria getting the better of me. The couple glared at me. I heard the red head mutter, 'hypocrite' but I didn't care. Bob was gone, and if Bob was gone that meant he wasn't with me, and if he wasn't with me then he could be taken and used against me, something I couldn't afford at the moment.

Just as I was about to stand up, the fireplace flared. I stared at it, the flames turned green which was crazy, but the worst part was that a person flew out of the flames and landed on their feet. I rubbed my eyes, this could not be happening. Just as the person flew out of the fireplace, I heard footsteps on the stairs outside too. What the fuck was going on?

"Luna?"

"Ron!" The woman said as she leapt at the redhead. The pause in action was awkward enough to have had a child. I blinked, then looked to Hermione for help, she however was glaring at the blonde woman. I started to laugh, it wasn't my normal laugh. It sounded hysterical, as if I would never stop. I felt a hand across my face and looked over to see Mac standing next to me. He nodded and walked back to the bar. Hermione hadn't stopped glaring and the blonde hadn't let go of Ron.

"So Ron, who's that on you," I asked as calmly as I could manage seeing as how she came out the damned fireplace

"This is Luna Lovegood," Hermione said icily. Luna let go of Ron and waved at me. Then she spotted Mouse and immediately repeated the actions on him. His tail was wagging hard so I took it to mean that she was good people, a little odd maybe, but good people. I was about to say something when the door opened.

"HARRY!" Luna cried, I barely dodged aside in time for Luna to go flying at the Other Harry. I was now out of my element entirely and felt like a sixth wheel, even Mouse fit in better than me.

I heard Luna mumbling and looked at the two. She wasn't hugging Potter the same way she did Ron and Mouse. She was trembling and his knuckles were white with how hard he was gripping her. Something was wrong, something was very off. I calmed my racing heart and strained my ears, trying to Listen. Listening with a capital 'L' was a trick I had picked up over the years, I still wasn't sure if it was magic or just plain training but I had managed to devise a way to pick up things normally people wouldn't be able to hear.

"They have him, Harry, they found him. They've got Nathan and I don't know where he is. I can't see him, I can't feel him, he's just gone."

"Who's Nathan," I asked without thinking. I swear I tasted rubber as my foot tried to insert itself past my tonsils.

"We'd like to know too," said Hermione, Ron nodded. Potter stared at us with haunted eyes. I knew that look, it was the same one I had seen in my mirror not a few hours ago.

"He's your son, isn't he?"

"Yes."


End file.
